Uncle Nine, where are you running to?

Two days later.

"Hey, do you like my master?"

Qiu Sheng suddenly stretched out his big face and came in front of Jingzhi, his face full of curiosity and gossip.

This sudden question made Jingzhi stunned, and for a moment she didn't know how to answer.

This problem can no longer be explained clearly with a simple word "like".

Her feelings towards Lin Jiu were extremely complicated.

Moreover, her mind was full of his past life at this moment. Since she disappeared and returned to him, Erdi had been very good to her for decades. She wanted to tie her to her belt and was afraid that she would melt if she was held in her mouth.

However, every time she saw Lin Jiu's serious look, she couldn't help but come up to him and tease him a few times, wanting to see a crack in his stern face.

Therefore, deep in her subconscious, she always felt that if she projected her deep feelings for Erdi directly onto Lin Jiu, it would be extremely unfair to both Lin Jiu himself and the deceased Erdi.

This tangled mood was like a tangled mess in her heart, making it difficult for her to sort out her thoughts.

……

Therefore, every time she teased Lin Jiu, before he had time to change his expression, she would have to hang her head and be depressed for a while.

Her schizophrenic appearance made Lin Jiu speechless and unable to scold her, so the two of them remained in a stalemate for two days.

Thinking of this, Jingzhi turned his head and glanced at Lin Jiu who was exercising, and said softly:

"I don't know what to say, just take it as it is."

Hearing her unclear answer, Qiu Sheng's playful expression froze on his face. He suddenly sat up straight and said to Jingzhi very seriously:

"Whatever you want to do, please don't hurt my master."

After spending two days with Qiu Sheng, Jingzhi got to know a little bit about his personality. He was good at martial arts, but he was naughty and active, which always made his master very angry. Now he showed this expression, which surprised Jingzhi a little.

"No, I will never hurt him, don't worry."

After saying this, she put away the serious expression on her face, looked at Qiu Sheng with a half-smile and said:

"But you, you have been irritating your master these past two days, and now you are talking about me."

Seeing that she didn't seem to be lying, Qiu Sheng breathed a sigh of relief. He then touched the back of his neck, his eyes rolling around for a few times before he finally decided to turn the tables:

"Damn, you're the same!

You chase my master around every night. I finally get back home to sleep for two days, but you force him to sleep in my bed, squeezing him to death!"

Jingzhi was unhappy. She rolled up a strand of hair in front of her chest, turned her face away, and opened and closed her mouth, muttering something softly. Qiu Sheng couldn't help but put his ear closer out of curiosity.

When he was halfway there, a big hand grabbed his ear and pulled it up suddenly.

"Ahhhh, Master, it hurts!"

Lin Jiu lifted Qiu Sheng's heavy head a few steps away before letting him go. He asked in a deep voice, "Why are you getting so close? Where's Wencai?"

Qiu Sheng rubbed his red ears, pouted his lips and glanced at Lin Jiu, who had a cold face, then pointed outside the door and said:

"Didn't you say that the uncle-master was going to pass by us? He went out to meet him."

Lin Jiu's sword-like eyebrows, which were already very close together, were now furrowed so tightly that they almost connected into a straight line.

This Wencai, after studying with him for so long, has forgotten that corpse-driving takes place at night?

There's no way you can pick up anyone if you go out now.

He sighed deeply.

As soon as I turned around, I saw Qiu Sheng squatting there again, with his head close to Jingzhi who was sitting sideways at the edge of the pavilion, whispering to each other.

Seeing this scene, his eyebrows jumped suddenly, and a nameless anger surged in his heart:

"Look at your junior brother. He's already gone to pick someone up, but you're still standing here. Why don't you go and make dinner?"

He thought for a moment and added, "Remember to make more. Your uncle-in-law has a big appetite!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Qiu Sheng heard a sudden sound of breaking air behind him.

He reacted extremely quickly, and with an agile backflip, he dodged Lin Jiu's kick.

Then, like a nimble monkey, he quickly hid behind a thick pillar.

After saying "Oh", he rushed towards the kitchen on the side.

At this moment, Jingzhi was quick-witted and grabbed Lin Jiu's ankle, which was just a few inches away from kicking her in the face.

She looked calm, pointed at the sunset glow in the sky, and said softly:

"The weather is so nice today, why are you so irritable..."

However, she soon discovered that something was wrong.

Lin Jiu's lips were tightened, and his ankles and toes were tensed tightly. There was even a faint cracking sound coming from his side.

Jingzhi felt her scalp tingle instantly, thinking something was wrong, and quickly let go of her hand. She stood up and ran straight to the kitchen without saying a word, shouting as she ran:

"I'm going to help too!"

"..."

Lin Jiu moved his ankle that she had pinched for a few seconds, and felt that the skin was incredibly hot. He couldn't help but rub his other foot against it until his skin was hurt. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief and stop.

Those who study Taoism have sharp ears and clear eyes.

The words she had just said, "So be it," and the firm words, "I'll never hurt him," were like a devilish sound, still lingering in his mind.

If you are shy and say you don’t have it, you are lying.

But there is more confusion and puzzlement.

Her attitude towards him was too strange, far from the attitude towards a stranger, or someone she fell in love with at first sight.

Even though Lin Jiu had never eaten pork, he had seen pigs run.

Although she had never experienced love, there was indeed a sudden hint of affection for him in her eyes. And for some reason, sometimes there was a hint of guilt in her eyes, and sometimes, it seemed as if she was looking through him at someone else.

These abnormal signs were enough to dispel his slight sense of embarrassment.

Jingzhi, who was preparing meals with Qiu Sheng at this time, didn't know that after only two days, the sharp-eyed Lin Jiu had stripped off her vest to only a little bit.

In the kitchen.

Looking at Qiu Sheng who was washing vegetables, Jingzhi's eyes were a little dazed.

"Hey, can I ask you a question?"

Qiu Sheng turned around and said, "Go ahead." He raised one corner of his mouth and gave a wicked smile, "You want to ask me about my master again?"

Jingzhi retracted his gaze, stared directly at the fire under the stove and said: "...No."

Qiu Sheng sighed and shrugged. Seeing that there was no gossip to be heard, he lowered his voice:

"Ask anything you want."

Seeing Jingzhi wasn't very happy, he sang in a funny way, like singing an opera, shook the water off his hands, bowed to her, and said with a pinch of his fingers:

"I will tell you everything I know, and I will say it all~"

He originally thought that Jingzhi would laugh.

However, Jingzhi's eyes suddenly turned red when she looked at him.

Qiu Sheng froze in place. He withdrew his hand somewhat helplessly, put down the dish in his hand, and took two quick steps towards her.

"Hey, you, don't cry, is it because my singing is too bad?"

Jingzhi shook her head, then nodded, wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, chuckled and said:

“It’s really hard to listen to, but I love it.”

He half squatted down, slowly breathed a sigh of relief, and asked curiously:

"You like opera too?"

The hand that was fiddling with the fire poker paused for a moment, then pushed the half-burned wood in again. The carbonized side poked another red-hot stick, rubbing out a few sparks that flew out of the stove.

Jingzhi quietly watched Mars disappear into the air. The voice of her reply was so faint that Qiu Sheng thought he was hallucinating.

She said: “I didn’t like it before, but now I like it…but I can’t hear it anymore.”

Qiu Sheng scratched his head. "How could I not hear it? I heard that Lan Guifang will be making her rounds soon. My master would love to hear it, too. Should we go together then?"

Jingzhi was stunned for a few seconds before nodding weakly.

Qiu Sheng couldn't stand seeing her in this lifeless state. He nudged Jingzhi's knee with his elbow and changed the subject:

"Didn't you have a question to ask just now? Why don't you say it!"

Jingzhi withdrew his thoughts, frowned, and thought for a while before slowly asking him:

"If, I mean if, there is a couple who originally loved each other, but the man suddenly lost his memory for unknown reasons one day, what would the young woman do?"

"What should we do? Take him to see a doctor immediately!"

"The doctor won't cure it. I'm talking about the relationship. The young lady still loves him, but the man has completely forgotten her. She's afraid he won't love her anymore. So what should she do? Should she...get a divorce?"

"Leave what?"

Jingzhi pretended to be calm, put another piece of firewood into the stove and said:

"Divorce, that is... leaving him."

When she said the last three words, Jingzhi's heart suddenly tightened, and a strong feeling of reluctance suddenly surged in her heart. She almost held her breath and pricked up her ears waiting for Qiu Sheng's answer.

It was only a few seconds, but she felt as if it were centuries. Qiu Sheng finally decided to open his mouth.

He frowned and said:

"What's the point of getting a divorce? Just forget it and cultivate your relationship again. Since he can marry that young lady, then that man must love something about her. If he can fall in love with her once, he can definitely fall in love with her a second time!"

Jingzhi looked at him blankly, and suddenly her eyes were unable to open because of the smoke.

At this time, Qiu Sheng pulled her up and sat down in front of the stove. He pulled out a few charred but unburned firewood and said unhappily:

"What's wrong with you today? You can't even light a fire. You put too much firewood. You're going to choke to death from the smoke!"

He sniffed, then quickly stood up and lifted the lid of the pot to take a look.

Damn! The rice is burnt!

Just as he was about to say something to her, Qiu Sheng turned around and only had time to see Jingzhi's back.

She had already stepped out of the kitchen, said "thank you" before leaving, and disappeared.

Qiu Sheng looked at the wide-open kitchen door, curled his lips and muttered:

"You said you'd come in to help me cook, but now you're gone. Humph!"

……

In the pavilion.

Jingzhi and Lin Jiu sat at the two ends of the table.

Lin Jiu felt a little uncomfortable being stared at by her, so he moved his butt and leaned back:

"looking for me?"

Jingzhi usually likes to look at people's eyes first. In this life, Lin Jiu's eyes are much sharper than Erdi's.

At this moment, although the look he gave her could not be described as sharp, it certainly could not be described as gentle either. There was even only a hint of embarrassment and discomfort in it.

Noticing the look in his eyes, she couldn't help but feel a little discouraged.

But after just a short moment, she seemed to be injected with strength again, and straightened her slightly bent back.

She silently recalled what Qiu Sheng had just said in her mind, pondered and organized her words in her heart, and finally slowly spoke out her inner thoughts:

"What I mentioned to Master Ren earlier about the assistant was not a casual remark. I sincerely want to stay here and work."

However, when she saw Lin Jiu's face gradually darken, her eyes dimmed instantly, and then she hurriedly spoke to try to save the current situation:

"Don't worry, I promise I will never step into your room again without permission. You just need to treat me as an ordinary colleague."

Hearing her words, Lin Jiu's tightly furrowed brows showed no sign of relaxing. He remained silent, as if he was lost in deep thought.

After a long while, he slowly nodded and said:

"Okay, but I can't give you much money, so for now, just take the same share as... Wencai. I'll have Qiu Sheng clean up a guest room for you later. Also, don't show your half-demon characteristics in front of the villagers. Let me make it clear, don't cause trouble for me, otherwise..."

Jingzhi raised her hand and gently pinched the index finger, "No need, otherwise, if I cause you trouble, I will get out of here by myself."

Feeling the warmth wrapped around his index finger and the delicate texture of the skin touching it, he pulled his hand back with force as if he had been electrocuted.

When he caught a glimpse of Jingzhi's depressed and somewhat lost gaze, he closed his eyes, suppressed the inexplicable feeling of frustration, and steeled himself to propose another condition:

"Men and women are different. Not only with me, but also with Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai, you'd better not touch me."

Hearing this, Jingzhi immediately stood up, took a few steps back, put her hands behind her back, and twisted her knuckles until they turned white. She lowered her head and replied sullenly, "Okay."

As if afraid of being hurt by his distant look again, Jingzhi didn't dare to look at him again. After nodding, she simply turned around and went back to the kitchen.

Looking at her straight and somewhat stubborn back, Lin Jiu felt a pang in his heart for some reason.

He couldn't help but wonder if he had said too much.

However, the result they just discussed was the best approach he could think of.

……

In the evening, inside the pavilion, five people were eating around the table.

After Simu took a bite of the rice, he suddenly looked troubled: "Brother, your two apprentices' cooking skills are getting worse and worse. Come to my place when you have time to taste Jiale's cooking skills."

At this moment, Jingzhi suddenly raised a hand and said, "I cooked the meal. I'm sorry, I didn't control the heat well."